The Souls They Bare
by heartandbullet
Summary: He is grieving a love he can never have. She is searching for answers of a love lost. Answers that lie in Mystic Falls, and the legend of the vampires. Answers that will push everyone involved to the edge of darkness and discovery. Damon/OC. Stefan/Elena.
1. Chapter 1  Breathe Me

_**Ouch I have lost myself again**_

_**Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,**_

_**Yeah I think that I might break**_

_**I've lost myself again and I feel unsafe**_

**Chapter One : Breathe Me**

She stole down the alleyway, pulling her black hood over her head as the first drops of rain drove towards the ground. The night was clear, the sky cloudless, and the only light came from the full moon that reflected in the rapidly forming puddles.

Her black trench coat camouflaged her perfectly as she paused for a moment in the shadows, her breath forming a transparent mist in the cool night air. Reaching into an inner pocket of the jacket, she pulled out a map and glanced over it briefly, accustomizing herself with her surroundings in relation to her planned destination. A shadow of a smile flickered across her face like a ghost, and then she was on the move once more, darting across the silent road and disappearing amongst the trees.

It took her a little under fifteen minutes to reach the cemetery, and a little over ten to find what she had travelled so far for. Lowering her hood, she allowed the rain to soak into her icy white skin as she approached the mausoleum, and reached up, inhaling deeply as her fingers ghosted over the name that had plagued her nights and days for the past year. The grey stone crumbled slightly under her spidery touch.

She stood there for a long while, contemplating this moment, this moment she had waited so long for, and placed a pale hand on the stone entrance to the crypt, bracing herself for the effort it would require to force it loose.

That's when she heard it. Felt the screams and roars of anguish spill down each of her vertebrae like a waterfall of fear and uncertainty. She whipped round, and caught its' eye, bloodthirsty and consumed with rage.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She ran.


	2. Chapter 2 Bloodstream

_**And the silence surrounds you**_

_**and hunts you**_

_**I think I might've inhaled you**_

_**I could feel you behind my eyes**_

_**You've gotten into my bloodstream**_

**Chapter Two : Bloodstream**

He heard it instantly. The screams, the roars, that encompassed terror and pain simultaneously.

But Damon was a man on the edge, and he blocked out the sounds that pierced through the night in favour of a scotch, shaking his head slightly as he downed the drink, trying to disrupt the signal.

But the screaming didn't stop. The noise continued to pierce the thoughts that Damon was allowing to torment him. The thoughts of always being the second choice.

Or in terms of Elena, no viable option at all.

A fresh shriek managed to finally shatter through his depression. Similar yet different to those before. No longer cries for help, this new bloodcurdling scream was a submission, a recognition, that something terrible was near.

A lightbulb flickered somewhere in the depths of his mind. _Elena?_

In a flash he was gone, ghosting into the dark.

_Jesus, Elena. Can't you stay out of trouble for one damned night?_

….

He smelt the blood before he saw it. The salty sweetness of it threatened to drown out his senses; suffocate his mind. Two thin fangs slipped out from his gums, and the skin around his eyes tightened, vampiric blood pulsating through his veins, threatening to drive him forward in a position of attacker, rather than protector, as was originally intended.

This girl, whoever she was, was not Elena. The blood was different. The scent was different. The whole situation was different.

He swallowed back his fangs, and felt the pressure behind his eyes receed, before mentally scolding himself for having lapsed on quenching his thirst over the past few days with anything other than alcohol.

He burst into the scene like a firework, and paused only for a moment to survey the picture in front of him, as though it were in slow motion.

A wolf, unmistakably a werewolf by the scent, had a frnt leg raised, claws and teeth bared, ready to deal a fatal attack. Underneath the creature, lying face down, one arm outstretched towards Damon, was the figure of a girl. And blood. So much blood.

Damon charged at the same moment as the wolf flicked it's yellow iris' in his direction. He collided forcefully with the beast, causing the pair of them to skid across the ground in a contortion of limbs and fangs. Damon was up in an instant and crouched on all fours. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an age, before he tackled the animal again. This time Damon had the upper hand, and the wolf crunched into the trunk of a tree. Out of its blood-soaked jaws it realeased a terrible howl, before disappearing into the darkness.

Panting slightly, Damon considered giving trace, before he was lured out of his rage by a moan that would have barely been audible to human ears.

In an instant, he was crouching next to the head of the girl, who managed to slowly turn her head to face him.

Eyes closed, she let out a small sigh.

"Thank you."

* * *

_AN: Dear readers. This is my first fanfiction story on this site, so thank you for checking it out. I am new to this, so any constructive criticism, or general comments would be greatly appreciated – I am always looking to improve my writing :)_

_I have tons of ideas and passion for this story, and the characters, so I hope you all stick around! Sorry both updates have been quite short – I'm still getting everyone introduced._

_At the start of each update I will post song lyrics, usually the track I have been listening to while writing it. If anyone wants the name of any songs referenced, feel free to ask!_

_Love xx_


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